AESC CLOS, in botany, a genus of the I leptandria Monogynia class and order, of the natural order of Trihilatm. There are three species : the first, or common horse-chestnut, was brought from the northern parts of Asia into Europe about the year 1550, and sent to Vienna about the year 1558. From Vienna it was con veyed to France and Italy-; but it came to us from the Levant, It is distinguished by the beautiful parabolic form of its branches, the disposition and structure of its digitate leaves, and by the py-ramidal bunches of its white flowers, variegated near the centre with yellow or red. Al though this tree is now less in esteem for avenues and walks than it formerly was, on account of the early decay of its leaves, it affords an excellent shade ; and the spikes are flow-ers which appear in May, with the intermixture of large leaves, ex hibit a noble appearance. The most eli gible situation for these trees is in lawns and parks, where they may be planted singly, and where their fruit mill be ser viceable to the deer, who are fond of it. This tree is of quick growth; and in a few years it will afford a good shade in summer, and yield plenty of flowers. Trees, raised from nuts, have in 12 or 14 years become large enough to shade two or three chairs with their branches, which in the season are covered with flowers. But the trees are of short duration, and the wood is of little value. it serves, however, for water-pipes, turners' ware, and fuel : and for these uses it is worth the charge of planting, and should be felled in November or December. The horse-chestnut has been employed in France and Switzerland for the purpose of bleaching yarn ; and it is recommend ed in the Memoirs of the Society of Berne, Vol. II. part 2, as capable of extensive use in whitening not only flax and hemp, but silk and wool. It contains an astrin gent saponaceous juice, which is obtained b2,- peeling the nuts, and grinding or rasp ing them. They are then mixed with hot
ram or running water, in the proportion of 20 nuts to 10 or 12 quarts of water. Wove caps and stockings were milled in this water, and took the die extremely kt-ell ; and successful trials were made of it in fulling stuffs and cloths. Linen washed in this water takes a pleasing light sky-blue colour; and the filaments of hemp, steeped in it some days, xvere easily separated. "l'he author of the me moir, above referred to, imagines, that if the meal of the chestnut could be made into cakes or balls, it would answer the purposes of soap, in wa.shing and fulling. The sediment, after infusion, loses itsbit ter taste, and becomes good food for fowls when mixed with bran. The Edinburgh College have admitted the horse-chestnut into their Pharmacopccia of 1783, on the recommendation of Dr. Gardiner, who says that three or four grains of the pow der, snuffed up the nostrils in the evening, operate next morning as an excellent ster nutatory, and thereby- proves very benefi cial in obstinate inflammations of the eyes. It patent was granted in 1796, to Lord W. Murray, for his discovery of a method of extracting starch from horse-chestnuts.
The second species, or yellow-flowered horse-chestnut, is a native of North Caro lina, was cultivated with us in 1764, and flowers in May and June.
The third species, or scarlet horse chestnut, rises to the height of twenty feet, without much extending its branch es ; its bark is smooth, and the leaves, which are opposite, on long, red petioles, are of a light green.
The common horse-chestnut is propa gated by soming the nuts, after preserv ingthem irk sand during the minter : but the scarlet is propagated by grafting it up on stocks of the common horse-chestnut.
l'he American species are /E. paria ; /E. flava; /E. macrostacItya; and 2E. achi nata. Of the last there are two varieties, .9. the glabra, and B. the pallida.